Heel-building machine



J. H. POPE.

- HEEL BUILDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY IB, 1918.

Patented Dec. 2o, 1921.

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@Athi JOSEPH H. POPE, 0F HAMILTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 UNITEDSHOE 'MACHINERY CORPORATION, 0F PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORORATION OFNEW JERSEY.

HEEL-BUILDING- MACHINE.

Specication'of Letters Patent. Pgitfgmijed D943, 20, 1921,

Application filed May 16, 1918. SerialvNo. 235,000.

To @ZZ whom t may con/cern:

Be it known that I, Josnrrr H. Porn, a citizen of the United States,residing at Hamilton, in the county ofEsseX and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain 1fmprovements in HeelBuilding Machines, of whichthe following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings,is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicatinglike parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to heel building machines and has particularreference to means for controlling the alinement of the lifts of a heelblank, the application of pressure to the blank while a heel buildingnail is being driven, and the provision of means for insuring the safetyof the operative during the operation of the machine upon the blank.

in machines of the general type to which this invention is applicable, a`contractile heel form is provided. Thile the form is expanded a seriesof lifts sufficient for a heel blank is piled into the form, which isthen contracted to engage the lateral surface of the heel, aline thelifts properly and maintain them in alinement while the blank issubjected to pressure and a nail driven through it to secure the liftstogether. A typical example of this style of heel building machine isillustrated and described in Patent No. 1,056,720, granted March 18,1913, Tripp.

In machines of the type referred to the mechanism foi` contracting theform jaws upon the lateral surface of the heel is operated by a foottreadle independently of the pressure and nailing mechanism, and it hasbeen possible to apply pressure to the pile of lifts and to drive one ormore nails through them while the form jaws were open or out ofengagement with the heel. This often resulted in causing the lifts toslide one upon another with the consequent distortion of the heel andwas particularly troublesome when building heels with one or more piecedlifts where the pieces were likely to become separated. 1n the machineof the above-mentioned patent,V also, the starting of the powermechanism is e'ected by drawing forward the arm carrying the presserfoot and, the machine having been started, it has been possible at timesfor the arm to fall backward sutliciently before the presser footengaged the heel so that one or more of the heel building nails wouldnot engage and clench upon the presser foot. As a further incident ofthe operation of these machines, it has been possible to cause thedepression of the presser foot upon the heel before the operative hadremoved her fingers from the mold, with the consequent possibility ofpersonal injury.y

The object of the present invention is to overcome the diiiicultiesabove outlined, and to this end a feature of the invention consists inthe provision in a heel building machine having a contractile heel formand mechanism for performing an operation upon the heel, of automaticmeans for con-` tracting the form upon the lateral surface of the heel,preferably yieldingly, prior to the application ofy the verticalpressure which forces the lifts into intimate contact with each other,in combination with separatemeans for opening, or expanding the form.This automatic means may conveniently take the form ofa spring orequiva* lent yielding device operating to close the jaws of the heelform and controlled by a cam or other element of the power mechanismofthe machine'in such a way that the heel form is maintained in expandedor open condition while the lifts are being introduced into it and' isautomatically closed upon the heel to aline the lifts after lthe machineis started and prior to the engagement of the presser foot with thetopmost lift. By reason of the yielding contraction of the form, itoperates to aline the lifts with certainty and accuracy,regardless of`variations in their sizes.

A further feature of the invention consists in the provision of meansfor preventing movement of the presser foot away from over the path ofthe heel building nail or nails after' the machine is started and beforethe nail or nails have Vbeen driven and clenched.' 1n a practical formof the invention this' feature may be embodied ina latch constructedand, arranged' to permit the presser foot to be drawn forward intooperative position over the heel andthen to lock and retain it in thatposition until it has descended to exert pressure on the heel while thenails are driven, whereupon the operative position; and

backto inoperative position.

A still Vfurther 'feature of the invention consists in lasafety devicecomprising a presser.Y foot or platen laterally movable over andV awayfrom the receptacle containing the heel and so constructed and arrangedthat in its movement into operative position over the heel it willengage and push away the fingers of the operative in case they havenotbeen removed in time, thus avoiding any danger of her fingers beingcaught and injured.

These and other` featuresof the invention Vwill best be appreciated andunderstood from the following detailed description of one embodimentthereof when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich, j

Figure 1 is aperspective view of the invention appliedto a well-knownform. of heel building machine; f

Fig.; 2 isa side elevation partly in section ofthe mechanism shown inFig. l;

Fig. V8 is a view of a detail of the mechanismfor locking the pressurefoot arm in Fig. 4 is a'sectional view of the Ysafety mechanismof thepresser foot.

The invention will'be described as embodied in a machine constructedlike that shown in Patent No. 1,056,720, above re- Vferred to, Vandreference may be had to that patent for a full disclosure of the detailsof construction of those features of a heel building machine Vwhich arenot novel, per

Vwith the present inventor. I Y

eferring, now yto the drawings, 10 indicatesV the frameand 12 the tableof aheel building machine. Mounted upon the table 12 is a dieandformholder 14v insuitably formed guiding grooves in which is secured anailing die 16 having the usual driver andV nail guiding holes 18 and,upon the upper surface Yof which is supported a con tractile heelreceptacle or form comprising a breast member 20 and side jaws 22, 24.`The jaws 22, 24 are carried by the ends of armsv 26,28 pivoted,respectively at 30, 32

to themember 14. The varm 26y is provided Vwithanextension 33 and aspring 34 ccnf Iiect'edjat'one' end tothe arm 83' and at'the Vother endto a stationary bracket 36 bolted tothe Ymachine frame tendsV normallyto swing the jaws which are interconnected by a pin-and slot as lshownin Patent No. 1,148,716, granted August 3, 1915 upon the application ofJ.. H. Richardson, in a direction to.` close the jaws upon the'lateralsurface of the heel to aline the lifts preparatory tothe driving oftheheel building nail.

s VV"'.he'iouter end of theeXtension 83' is conV fnected by anadjustable link 42 to a cam 1 Vlever 44 which inovegiabout astationarypivot 46 and is actuated to expand or open the forming jaws inopposition to the spring 84'to facilitate the introduction of the liftsby a Vcam 48 mounted upon the main driving shaft 49 of the. heelbuilding machine.

A beam or arm` 50 corresponding to the beam 122 of Patent No. 1,056,720, previously mentioned, carries a presser foot or platen 52forengaging the upper face of the heel and `pressing the lifts together.As in the said patent, the act of swinging the presser foot over theheel in the form automatically releases the starting clutch and causesthe presser foot to be lowered by power and the heel building nail ornails to be driven. The

mechanism for performing these operations l is fully'shown and describedin theY said patent and a detailed description thereof need not berepeated here.

Cam 48 is so disposed upon the shaft 49 that when the machine stops thecam is in engagement with the cam arm 44 and the form jaws 22, 24 areheld open to permit the easy and rapid introduction of lifts into theform. l/Vhen the requisite number of liftsV driving mechanism. In thecontinued operation of the machine the presser foot 52 carried by thearm 50 descends to apply pres sure to the blank and then the heelbuilding nail or nails are driven, their points, if they Vprotrudethrough the upper surface of the blank, being clenched upon the pressurefoot. v

Ideretofore, in machinesof this type it has sometimes occurred thatthe'operative would draw the arm 50 forward quickly and immediatelyrelease it. If the arm were drawn forward somewhat violently it wouldsometimes rebound rearwardly and although the power mechanism of themachine was started, theV presser foot would have moved suflicientlyrearwardly by the time it had engaged the heel so that one Vor more ofthe heel building nails would escape engagement Y with it and would notbe properly clenched.

scribed.

VA pin 54 the machine..V A spring 58 heldunder tension by screw 60,presses against the pin 54,V

holding it yieldingly inwardly Vwith its end in the path of a slide'62,mounted for movefment in a vertical: grcover64 formed in the is slidablymounted in'a boss 56V secured to, or forming part of, the frame of :Toovercome this possibility, I have pro-V vided Vmechanism which willVnowbe dearm 50. A spring 66 attached to the slide 62 and to a pin 68inserted in the arm 50 tends to draw the slide 62 upwardly until thelower end ot. a slot 70 formed in the slide engages a screw 72 which islikewise inserted in the arm 50. A beveled tace 74 is formed upon theslide in proper position to engage the yielding pin 54 in the forwardmovement of the arm 50. The relation of the parts, however, is such thatwhen the arm 50 has reached the limit ot its forward movement, the pin54- snaps in behind the slide 62, thus holding or locking the arm 50positively against falling backward and maintaining the presser foot 52in alinement with the nail drivers.

As the arm 50 descends during the operation ci the machine a forwardlyextending hook 76 upon the lower end ot the slide 62 engages and passesbythe hook upon. the upper end oi a dog 78 pivoted at 80 to the machinetrame and yieldingly drawn rearwardly by a spring 82. Pin 84:, whichserves as a means for connecting the spring'82 to the dog 78, alsoengages a surface 86 formed upon the frame oi' the machine which acts asa stop to limit the rearward movement or the dog. In the operation or'the machine the arm 50 descends sun'iciently to cause the hook 76 topass by the hook on the dog 78, which then snaps in over the hook 76, asshown in Fig. 3. its the arm 50 again rises, the dog 78 prevents theslide 62 from rising, l'iolding it in such a position that its uppersurface may move backward beneath the end oit the pin 511, as the arm 50swings backward. By the time the arm has reached Yits position of rest,asshown in Fig. 1, the slide 62 has been released from the hook on thedog 78, the rearward movement of which is limited by the pin 84 and thesurface 86, and the upper end oft' the slide has passed :trom beneaththe pin 54:, permitting the spring 66 to restore the slide to itsinitial position ready for the next operation. lt will be apparent thatno matter how suddenly or violently the arm 50 is drawn forward, it willbe impossible for the presser 'foot 52 to move backwardly out ofalinement with the nail drivers until after the nails have been drivenand the operation of the machine upon the heel blank has been completed.

Referring now to Fig. at, the presser ioot 52 has an upwardly projectingstem 90 arranged to slide vertically in a guiding hole formed in thelower end of the plunger 92, which is mounted in the head 94 at theupper end ot the arm 50. A screw 96 is threaded into the plunger 92 andhas a reduced end portion 98 which projects into a slot 100 in the stem90. A screw 102, threaded into the upper end of the stem 90 andmaintained in adjusted position by a check nut 104, is arranged. toengage the end 98 of the screw 96 and to limit adjustably the downward.

movement of the presser foot relatively to' the plunger 92. The spring106 serves to maintain Vthe screw 102 yieldingly in engagement with theelement 98, while a sleeve 108 projecting upwardly from the presser footincloses the space between the presser ifoot and the lower end of theplunger 92, excluding dirt and Vpreventing anything 'from becomingcaught between the opposing surfaces. A slot 110 in the sleeve permitsthe introduction of a screw driver to remove the screw 96 when it isdesired, to dismount the presser root from the plunger. The plungerisadjusted vertically by means ot a hand wheel 112 to such a positionthat the path of movement oli' the lower face of the presser toot is asindicated by the dotted line 114, in F ig. 2, that is to say, thepresser foot in its forward movement will barely clear the jaws of theheel form and the upper surface of the heel blank. In the event that theoperative has not removed her iingers from the form, the presser toot inits forward movement will push them away to a position of safety, therebeing insulticient space tor her tingers between the presser foot andthe heel.

rlhe adjustment oi the screw 102 is such that the space between thelower end of the plunger 92 and the upper face oi the presser foot is sorelated to the downward movement oi the arm 50 in applying pressure tothe heel that the plunger will engage the presser foot and, through thepresser foot, the requisite pressure will be applied to the lifts toforce them together and hold them irmly while the nail or nails arebeing driven. Alfter the presser foot 52 has engaged the heel, thespring 106 yields during the downward movement of the plunger 92,permitting the pressure to be applied positively upon engagement of theplunger with the presser foot, and when the plunger againv rises thespring acts to restore the parts to their initial safety7 position asillustrated in F ig. 4.

While the particular embodiment of the invention selected for disclosureherein has been specifically described as included in the organizationof the machine of the Tripp patent previously identified, it should beunderstood that the invention is equally applicable to heel buildingmachines of other specific 'forms of construction, and it iscontemplated that it shall be so used.

Having described my invention, what is claimed as new and desired to besecured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. n a heel building machine, thev combination of a contractile heelform, mechanism for applying pressure to the heel in a direction normalto the planes of the lifts, automatic means for contracting the formupon the lateral surface of the heel to aline the lifts, andinterdependent nailing mechanism automatic means for contracting theformV upon the lateral surface of the heel to aline the lifts, andinterdependent nailing mechanism and positive means for uninterruptedlymaintaining the form in expanded condition until the operation of thepressure applying mechanism is started.

3. In a heel building machine, the combination ,of a contractile heelform, mechanism for applying pressure to the heel in a direction normalto the planes of the lifts, yielding means for contractingthe form uponthe lateral surface of the heel to aline the lifts, and interdependentnailing mechanism and means for uninterruptedly maintaining the form inexpanded condition until the operation ofthe pressure applying mechanismis started. Y

l. Ina heel building machine, the combination of a contractile heelform, mechanism vfor applying pressure to the heel in a direction normalto they planes of the lifts, yielding 'means for contracting Vthe form Yuponthe lateral surface of the heel to aline the lifts, andinterdependent nailing mechanism and positive means for uninterruptedlymaintaining the form in expanded condition until the operation of thepressure applying mechanism is started.

In a gheel building machine, the combi- Y Ynation'of a Vcontractile heelform, mechanism fory applying pressure to the heel in a direction normalto the planes of the lifts, mechanism for nailing the .lifts together,

' automatic spring means for contracting the Y form upon the lateralsurface of the heel Vto alinethe-lifts, and separate means formaintaining Vthe form expanded except 'when the pressure mechanism isoperated.

l6. In a heel building machine, the combination-of a contractile heelform, mechanism for applying .pressure to the heel in a'direction'normal to the planes ofthe lifts, mechanism for nailing the liftstogether, automatic.meansl for contracting theV form fupon the lateralsurface of the heel to aline th@ lifts, and-separate automatic means,al-

ways operative whenV they pressure mecha.-V

nism is quiescent, to expand the fornito permitthe introduction oflifts.

' i 'Z'.InV a Vheel building machine, the com- :bination of acontractile Vheel form, power nailing mechanism, yielding means forcontracting the form upon the lateral surface of ythe Vheel V'to alinethe lifts, and separate `means, controlled by an elementV of ,said

.powerf nailing mechanism, for keeping the form expanded to permit theintroduction vof lifts when the nailing mechanism is inspringI meanstending to contract the forni,V

and a cam, operated by said power mechanism, for keeping theformexpanded against the tension of the spring when said power mechanismis Ynot in operation.

10. In a heel building machine, the coinbination of la heel form,mechanism for driving `a nail through a heel in the form, a pressermovable Vover and away from the form, and means permitting the presserto be moved over the form but preventing its retraction until Vthe nailhas been-driven.

l1. In a heel building machine, the combination of a heel form,mechanism for driving` nail through a heel in the form, a pressermovable into and out of alinement with the nailing mechanism, and meansfor preventing movement of the presser out of alineinentwith the nailingmechanism prior to the operation of said mechanism.

12. In a heel building machine, the combination of a heel form,mechanism for driving` a nail through ya heel in the form, a pressermovable into and out of alinement with the nailing mechanism, and meansunder the control of said mechanism constructed and arranged to permitthe presser to be drawn forward into operative position in alinementwith the nailing mechanism and then to lock and retain itin thatposition until afterV the operation of said mechanism.

13. .In a heel building machine, thev combination of a heelform,mechanism for driving a nail thro-ugh a heelin the form, a

presser movable into and Vout of alinement Ywith the nailing mechanism,and a latch under the Vcontrol of said mechanismVY constructed andarranged to permit the presser to be drawn forward into operativeposition in aliiieinent with the nailing mechanism c and Vthen to lockand retain itin thatposition until after the operation of said mechavnismfV Y 'V 14;. In a heelbuilding machine, the combination of a heelform, a presser movable laterally.V relatively to the form andvertically relatively to a heel in the form, and means'for insuring thatthe lateral and vertical movements of the presser shall succeed eachother alternately.

15. In a heel building machine, the combination ol' meanfs forsupporting a heel blank, and a presser laterally movable over and awayfrom the blank in a path sutliciently close to the face of the blank toinsure against the presence of an operatives fingers between the presserand the blank.

16. In a heel building machine, the combination of means for supportinga heel blank, a presser laterally movable over and away from the blank,said presser being so constructed and arranged that in its movement intooperative position over the blank it will engage and push away thelingers of an operative in case they have not been previously removed,and means for actuating' the presser to apply pressure to the blank.

17. In a heel building machine, the combination of a heel form, apresser carrying member movable into and out of alinement with the blankin the form, and a blank engaging presser mounted upon said member formovement over the blank in a path suiiiciently close to the blank toinsure against the presence of an operatives fingers between the presserand the blank.

1S. In a heel building machine, the combination of a heel form, apresser carrying member movable into and out of alinement with the form,and a heel engaging presser mounted for positively limited yieldingmovement upon. said member during the pressure applying operation.

19. A heel building machine comprising an upwardly facing liftreceptacle, a platen adapted to cooperate with said receptacle andincluding a power actuated inner head, and a loose outer head normallyseparated from the inner head when the platen is mov ing toward thereceptacle, said outer head constituting a safety device.

20. A heel building" machine comprising an upwardly facing liftreceptacle, a platen adapted to cooperate with said receptacle andincluding a power actuated inner head, and a loose outer head normallyseparated from the inner headwhen the platen is moving toward thereceptacle, said outer head constituting a safety device and being pro-Yvided with a face arranged to press Vupon a lift in the receptacle.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

JOSEPH H. POPE.

